Trouble In Paradise
by Netz
Summary: When Andie's father throws her out after discovering she's a witch, it's the Potters who take her in. This story follows her first year at Hogwarts, and the trouble she finds along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything related to Harry Potter. I only own Andie, her parents, and various professors. **

The morning she turned 11 was a day that she would remember forever. At first, she was reluctant to get up. She had never been much of a morning person, and it only got worse on her birthday. She was an only child, and her parents tended to spoil her on her birthday, giving her whatever she wanted, and letting her sleep in as late as she could. She didn't really have the attitude of a spoiled child though, because it only happened once a year. The rest of the time, it was a fend for yourself kind of situation. She didn't really mind, she was used to it.

"Andie!" The call came from the bottom of the stairs. Andie groaned. She wasn't ready yet. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it read 1:00 PM.

"Shit" She mumbled to herself. Even though she was only 11, she had spent her school years in the public school system. You learn a lot of interesting things in the school system, and she had quite the mouth on her. Not that she would ever say anything in front of her parents.

Andie crawled out of bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. "Ugh, I look terrible." She ran a comb through her hair, and put her glasses on. She went back to her room and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It was June, and Andie found herself sweating from the effort.

"Andie Sparks, get your butt down here this instant. We would actually like to see you on your birthday for a little while."

"Coming Mum!" Andie yelled back down shortly before barreling down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

"Happy birthday, honey," Andie's dad smiled at her. He was a teacher at the school Andie went to, so he had the summer off as well. Andie's mom was a doctor, but she had managed to get the day off to celebrate her daughter's birthday like she did every year.

"How about some breakfast huh? How does that sound?"

"Dad, it's not breakfast time anymore," Andie giggled.

"Well, seeing as you just got up and haven't eaten anything yet, it's still breakfast for you."

Andie stuck out her tongue playfully.

"So, what would you like?" Her dad asked, playing the part of a chef. Andie's mum was a terrible cook, so her dad ended up doing all of the cooking. It worked out, because her mum often worked late hours at the hospital and if she had to cook too, there would be hell to pay.

"Can I have bacon and eggs?" Andie asked hopefully.

"I had a feeling you were going to request that," he smiled, pulling out everything he would need to make what he knew was Andie's favorite meal.

"You wanna open your presents now or after you finish eating?" her mum asked. This was a routine they went through every year.

"I wanna open them now" Andie had a large smile plastered onto her face. Even though it was the same every year, Andie always felt like it was brand new, designed just for her.

Andie's mother began to bring presents in while her daughter sat at the table eagerly. Once everything was settled, food was placed on the table, and parents were seated, Andie began to rip the paper off of the pile of gifts she had sitting in front of her. She had books, clothes, toys, a camera, all sorts of things. She was just starting to unwrap a large square box when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Pause for just one moment, I'll go see who it is," Her dad said, clearly peeved that someone was interrupting during family time.

Andie took the time to eat her breakfast. She could hear what was going on in the hallway, and listened intently while she ate.

"Who are you?"

"Sir, I have some news that I would like to share with you, your wife, and your daughter."

"We're not interested in whatever you're trying to sell."

"Oh, I assure you, I'm not trying to sell anything. It's about her future in schooling."

"My daughter already attends a perfectly good school, but thank you and have a nice day."

"Sir, the school I'm here to talk about is quite special." The way the man said those words caused Andie's dad to pause.

"Alright, come in, but make it quick. We're celebrating my daughter's birthday."

"Of course, sir."

Andie was confused. She was already in school. Why would someone be coming to tell her about another one.

After her father and the strange man, who had a very peculiar way of holding himself were situated, the man started to speak.

"Hello, I am Professor Banks. I would like to start by giving you this letter, Miss Sparks," he said as he handed Andie a letter made of a heavy material, that was addressed to her in emerald ink. She took it cautiously and read the envelope first.

_Miss Andrea Sparks_

_Bedroom on the left_

_London_

On the back of the letter was a red wax seal with a crest of some kind pressed into it. "What is all this?" she asked.

"Open it," the man urged.

Andie broke the seal and pulled out a letter written on thick parchment and began to read.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

_**Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall**_

_Dear Miss Sparks,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on 1 September. We await your ow, by no later than 31 July_

_ Yours sincerely, _

_ Neville Longbottom_

_ Deputy Headmaster_

Andie looked up from the letter, confusion clearly displayed on her face. "What is this?"

"Let me see the letter," Andie's dad said, taking the parchment from his daughter's hands.

"Is this some kind of joke?" He asked.

"Oh, absolutely not. That's why I'm here, to explain the wizarding world. Sir, Ma'am, you daughter is a witch. Professor Banks smiled at Andie. She felt her stomach do a flip.

"That's not possible, magic isn't real," her mum said.

"I assure you, magic is quite real. Andrea has had her name down in the books from the day she was born."

"This has to be some kind of joke."

The man turned to Andie. "Tell me Andie, has anything unusual ever happened to you? Perhaps when you were around the age of 7?"

"You need to get out of this house. You are absolutely insane," Andie's dad was trying to pull the man out of his chair, but he didn't budge an inch.

"Well actually..." Andie was thinking. "My teacher's pen exploded in her hand for seemingly no reason one time in school while she was yelling at me," She said. "I thought maybe she had just been gripping it too hard, but thinking back, she was barely holding it."

"Ah, yes. Accidental magic is a common thing."

"Get out of my house."

"I can see now that you need proof. It's a good thing I got special permission from the ministry to show you. Ordinarily, magic in front of muggles is not allowed, but this is a special circumstance." Professor Banks pulled what looked like a fancy stick out of a pocket inside his coat and waved it. the boxes on the table rose into the air. Andie's family stared open-mouthed.

"H-how did you do that?" her dad asked.

"Ah, Mr. Sparks, that would be magic."

Her dad stood up. "I don't need this garbage in my home. Andie, if you choose to go to that school, you can get out of my home."

"Honey, she's only 11," Andie's mother tried to reason with her husband.

"I don't care."

Andie felt the hot tears as they streamed down her face.

_**This is my first fan fiction story, please let me know what you think. :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own anything from the Harry Potter world. **

A few minutes had passed since Andie's dad gave his ultimatum. Her mum was crying silently into her napkin, and Andie herself sat at the table, still trying to wrap her head around what her own father had said.

"Sir, that really isn't necessary. I can promise you that even after 7 years of education at Hogwarts, she will still be the same daughter you raised. She will, however, also have the opportunity to be around people who are like her, people she can connect with in ways that she wouldn't be able to in the muggle world."

"It's necessary if I say it's necessary. Andie has to make up her own mind. It all depends on how much she loves her family."

Andie turned her head towards her father slowly. "You know I love you Daddy, but I also want to go to this school."

"So you've made your decision then? You're abandoning your family to go with this... with this heathen? Andie, I thought we raised you better than that. Magic is a sin, it goes against everything we believe in."

"No dad, it goes against everything YOU believe in." Andie said. She got out of her chair and walked the two brief steps to where Professor Banks was sitting. "I'm going."

"Are you sure?" The man asked.

"Positive."

"Alright, go pack your things, I'll be waiting in the hallway."

"You'd better make sure you grab everything, Whatever you leave behind, it won't be there if you ever try to come back."

Andie felt a new wave of tears fall from her eyes as she went upstairs to her room to gather everything she had in the world. She couldn't believe her own father would do this to her. Was it even legal? She doubted it, but it wouldn't be the firs time her dad did something ridiculous because of his beliefs. There was a soft knock on her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, can I come in?" Andie's mother's voice drifted through the wood.

"What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"A lot actually. If you don't let me in, I'll just say it through the door."

"Fine." Andie walked to the door and opened it. Her mother was standing there, a pained expression clearly displayed on her face.

"I'm sorry about your father. he'll come around, you'll see."

"Whatever you say mum. I'll just stay at school. It's not that big of a deal. I know dad won't want me back. I'm exactly what he hates in the world. Why would I possibly that would change?"

"Because your father loves you."

"Does he?"

"I know I do. Will you please write to me?"

"I don't know. What would dad think?"

"It doesn't matter what he thinks." Andie's mum winked at her daughter as she ruffled the soft, brown hair on the top of her head.

"I'll think about it," Andie said.

"That's all I could ever ask for." With that, her mother left Andie to finish packing up her stuff. It wasn't long after that Andie found herself walking down the stairs, her stuff in tow.

"Are you ready?" Professor Banks asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Andie said.

"We'll leave now then. Have you said bye to your mum?"

"Kind of. Um, I do have a question."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, it says on the letter hat term doesn't start until September 1st, it's only June 22nd, where am I going to stay for the rest of the summer?"

"Ah, that has already been arranged. We found a host family for you to stay with during the next few months. They also have children who are your age, so you won't be alone."

"A host family? Are they..."

"Are they like you? Yes. They all are."

"Oh, so they probably know a lot more about the wizarding world than I do, don't they."

"Well yes, but there are plenty of people who go to Hogwarts who are muggleborns, just like you. You'll be fine."

"What exactly is a muggle, I heard you say that several times today."

"A muggle is a person who isn't magical."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's get you to your new home. There's still a lot to do."

"Ok."

"Grab my hand." Andie latched on to the man's hand while still holding onto her stuff, and she felt an intense swirling feeling, like she was being pulled in every direction. It was nauseating, and disorienting. She couldn't wait for it to be over.

When she finally felt her feet touch solid ground, her legs gave out from under her. She found herself lying on the ground in a heap. Embarrassed, she pulled herself back up, and clung to her bag in a desperate attempt to stay standing. After a few long moments, her legs could support her again, and she did her best to pretend like nothing had happened.

"You ready?" Professor Banks asked, clearly trying to pretend he hadn't seen her fall.

Andie adjusted her shirt. "Yeah, let's go."

"Alright, there's just have one thing that I really should tell you. The Potters have 3 children, Lily, James, and Albus, as well as countless relatives. They are a very nice family, but they can be a little bit intense. The rest, I'll let you find that out on your own."

"Uh, ok."

"Let's go." He motioned for her to follow him as they walked. It was still light out, as it was only 6:00, and Andie couldn't stop looking around. The buildings were crazy.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"It's a place called Godric's Hollow."

"Oh, I remember hearing from my parents that a family were found dead there a long time ago, they had relatives there."

"Yes, It is not a wizarding village, so many muggle live there, and you are quite right that this village has known it's fair share of sadness."

Andie just nodded. The two walked the rest of the way in silence.

Professor Banks stopped in front of a fairly large house. "Ah, here we are," he said.

"Woah." Everything about the house screamed money. There were freshly manicured lawns, expensive decorations, and the house itself was intricately designed. "How does this place not get robbed?" Andie asked.

Professor Banks chuckled. "Muggles can't see it, and wizards respect the Potters too much to try."

"Why would a whole community respect one family that much?"

Professor Banks's face darkened, "that's a complicated answer. Come on, let's go in. They're expecting us."

"Yeah sure, ok."

They walked up to the door, Andie dropping back a little bit while Professor Banks knocked. The heavy wooden door opened slowly, and Andie got a quick glance inside. it was absolutely beautiful, and it seemed even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, even though that didn't seem possible. A man was standing in the doorway. He had messy black hair and green eyes.

"Hello, you must be Andie. Thank you for bringing her here Charlie," the man said.

_Charlie?_ Andie thought to herself. Well, now she knew what one of her professor's names was.

"Oh, it's no problem. I hope you'll help her get situated. She had a bit of a rough experience at home earlier."

"Of course." The man motioned for Andie to enter the house, and with Professor Banks's nod of encouragement, she slowly crept in, dragging her bags behind her. "Welcome to my home," the man said.

"Thank you," Andie mumbled.

"my name is Harry, and I'm sure my wife and kids are around here somewhere. Why don't we get your bags up to the room you'll be staying in, and then we can see about finding everyone else. How does that sound?"

"That's fine, I guess." Andie started hauling her bags again, they were heavy.

"Please, allow me," Harry said. As Andie looked on, Harry pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it. Her bags started to float, and he started walking with them towards the stairs. Andie couldn't hide the shock that was clearly displayed all over her face. Professor Banks smiled in the doorway.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts Miss Sparks," he said as he let the door close.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own anything from the Harry Potter Universe**

It was hard to believe that she could be seeing Magic, but there it was. Her bags were floating in the air, right in front of her, the appeared to be moving on their own, although Andie had the sense to know it was Harry who was controlling them. It was a short walk to the bedroom that was now Andie's, and Harry set her things on the ground beside the bed. The room was bigger than her room at home had been, and it was definitely grander. It was completely new territory for her. She had lived her whole life in London, she didn't really know much else. This place was definitely different from anything she had experienced before. She took a deep breath.

"You ok?" Harry asked, concern painted all over his face.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just a lot to take in, that's all."

"I can understand that. I felt the same way the first time I entered the Burrow." Upon seeing Andie's confusion, Harry went on to explain. "The Burrow is where my best friend Ron grew up. You'll meet him and his family at some point."

"Oh, ok." It was all so overwhelming. Not only was she now entering this whole new world, she was meeting a whole new set of people as well. She had never thought of her life as being sheltered before, but at the moment, that seemed like the right word to describe it.

"Is she here daddy? Is she here?" The voice of a small girl could be heard down the hall.

"Ah, that's Lily. She's a bundle of energy," Harry told Andie. "Yes Lilbug, Andie's here," he called out the door.

"Can I say hi?"

"If you calm down a little bit first." The amusement in his voice was evident. There was a father who loved his little girl. There was the kind of man Andie was beginning to realize her father had never been.

Andie could hear footsteps racing down the long hallway, and suddenly a small girl popped into the room, She had bright red hair, and brown eyes. "Hi," the little girl blurted out excitedly. Andie waved sheepishly.

"Alright, you said hi Lily, now will you please give us a moment?" The little girl nodded and walked back down the hall, clearly still excited.

"You'll have to forgive her, it's not often she gets to see a girl around here who isn't her mom or her cousin."

"I get it, I'm an only child."

"Really? I kind of was too. Or I would have been if I hadn't been forced to live with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin."

"What happened?" Andie asked, that seemed a little strange, and she wondered what had happened to her parents, but she wanted to leave the question open ended, he could answer it any way he wanted.

"It's a long story. I'm sure you'll hear about it eventually either from one of my kids, or from someone at Hogwarts."

Andie had a feeling he just didn't want to talk about it and decided to respect that and not ask any more questions. She could ask other people later.

"Anyway, you're just in time for dinner, and now would be as good a time as any for you to meet the rest of the family." Harry was smiling at her. She knew what he wanted from her, but she had a hard time with it. Her father had just proven to her that he didn't love her as much as he claimed he did. He had called her a heathen. He kicked his own daughter out of the house simply for being who she was. For being something, someone, that she couldn't control. She fought back her tears. The last thing she wanted to do was cry. She didn't want to meet the rest of the family with tears in her eyes. What would they think of her if she did.

"Yeah, sure. Why not." That was all she said. That was all she trusted herself to say.

"Great, we're having steak. You do like steak, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Perfect. It's the kid's favorite, so we tend to have it a lot."

"Good to know."

"Anyway, we'll all be in the kitchen when you're ready. It won't be hard to find, just follow the sounds." With that, Andie was left to her own devices. She flopped down on the bed, which was the most comfortable thing she had ever laid down on. She couldn't believe that, for all intents and purposes, this was all hers, and her dad couldn't come and take it all away.

After spending a few minutes on the bed, she began to smell delicious scents coming from somewhere in the house. That would obviously be dinner, and it was then that Andie realized just how hungry she was.

"Well, I'd better get this over with. I have to meet them all eventually. Especially if we're going to be living under the same roof, and going to school together." Andie sighed. She had never been very good at making friends. She was awkward. It didn't help that most of her fellow classmates knew her as the girl with the religious freak, teacher father. People at Hogwarts didn't need to know about him. As far as they would know, Peter Sparks didn't exist.

Andie picked herself up off the bed and crept out of her room. She found the stairs again easily, as they weren't very far away. She had a bit more trouble finding the kitchen, but after a bit of wandering, she located it in the back corner of the house. She stood against the wall just outside the room for a few moments trying to collect herself. She took a few big breaths and walked in.

The first thing she experienced upon entering the room was complete and utter chaos. It was a mess. There was food everywhere, and various and assorted items like clothing, toys, books, and paper littered the floors and counters. It was a huge contrast to the spotless home she had known before. It made her slightly uneasy, but she supposed it was something she would have to get used to.

"Um, hi," she said sheepishly from the doorway. The noise died down as everyone in the room turned to look at her.

"You must be Andie," a cheery red haired woman said.

"Yeah, that would be me."

"It's so good to meet you, I'm Ginny, these are my boys, Albus and James, and I hear you've already met Lily." Ginny had a very pleasant smile, and a comforting way of presenting herself.

The boys said hi as well, but they weren't quite so open about it. She was, after all, a girl, and they were still young enough that that mattered.

"Well, dinner's just about ready," Harry voice drifted in through a door just off to the side. Andie walked over to look, and she saw him using a grill. Her father didn't believe in using a grill, so she rarely got to eat anything that was made on one, but every time she did, it was absolutely delicious. She walked back over to everyone else. She was about to ask if there was anything she could do to help set up when she saw that the table was already completely set, and everyone was sitting down.

"Come Andie, there's a seat over next to Lily," Ginny said.

Andie plopped down into the seat. She could feel the stares of the Potter children beating down onto her. She realized she was sitting directly across from Albus, and James was at a slight diagonal from her. Both of their eyes were trained on her. Andie felt a slight blush creep onto her cheeks, and forced it back down.

Ginny looked from the poor girl sitting in an unfamiliar kitchen with unfamiliar people, to her boys, and back to the girl. She smirked when she realized what was clearly going on. Her sons may only be 11 and 12, but Andie was quite pretty.

There was a thickness to the silence. Ginny decided to break it.

"So, You're going into your first year at Hogwarts then?" Ginny asked. The awkwardness shifted a little bit, but it was definitely still there.

"Uh, yeah. Until earlier today I hadn't even known the school existed. Or magic for that matter," Andie admitted.

There was a collected gasp from the children.

"What? you didn't know about magic?" Lily asked, shocked.

"My parents are what Professor Banks described as muggles, I think it was."

'Oh, so you're a muggleborn then?" James asked.

"Well yeah, I guess so."

"I guess we can cross Slytherin off the list of possible houses that you could be in then," he said jokingly.

"Um, what's a Slytherin?"

"Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin are the four houses at Hogwarts. Each student is sorted into one of the houses before the feast on the first night," Ginny explained.

"Oh, that makes sense I guess," Andie shrugged. She was used to public school, she wasn't accustomed to this whole house thing.

"I'm in Gryffindor." James seemed to puff up a little bit when he said it. "Mom and dad were too."

"Really just about everyone we know was in Gryffindor," Albus said. "I'm hoping I get into Gryffindor too. I'm starting at Hogwarts this year, like you," he said before quickly lowering his head. He seemed to realize he had spoken to her. The table grew silent again.

Harry was the saving grace. A few minutes later, he came in carrying the steak with him. The room was filled with a flurry of activity as people began to cut chunks off of the meat for themselves, and doll out the various sides that were available. Andie waited until everyone else had helped themselves before grabbing a bit from whatever was left over. Once she was ready, she noticed that everyone else had already started eating. That was odd, usually her dad forced them to say grace, and wait until everyone was served before they could eat. She liked this way of doing things much better.

Andie shoveled food into her face at what would be an alarming rate had there not been two preteen boys at the table as well. Everything on the table was so good that she couldn't help it. There were garlic green beans, mashed potatoes with beef gravy, and of course, the steak. Harry knew how to grill a mean steak. It was cooked to perfection.

She was done with the meal within minutes. "Is it ok if I go back to my room?" She asked.

"Of course," Harry said. "There's no reason to ask, you can just go. Don't worry about your dishes, Ginny and I take care of them," he added.

"Oh oh, ok," Andie said. That was really different from what she was used to. Of course, cleaning up was probably a lot easier when you have magic. Andie wandered back to her room, stopping to glance into other rooms as she passed by them. One room was clearly an office of some kind, while another one looked like a living room. It had a television, but it also had a lot of other objects that she couldn't name. Eventually, she made it back to her room. She began to unpack her clothes and hang them up. She pulled books out of bags, and put shoes along the side of her bed. She put pictures in the window, and by the bed. After a little while, it almost started to feel like home.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry it took so long to update. My life got a little bit crazy, and school took over a bit. I plan to be better about it from now on.**

When Andie woke up the next day, she expected everything from the day before to have been a dream. She expected to wake up in her old room, in her old bed, with her parents breathing down her neck. It wasn't a dream though. None of it had been. She was really there in the house, surrounded by everything she had once believed to be a fairytale.

The smell of breakfast wafted up the stairs and into her room. She couldn't quite place what it was from the distance, but it smelled fantastic. She climbed out of bed, and threw on a robe and slippers.

By the time she made it to the kitchen, she noticed the Potter family was already there.

"Oh, hello Andie," Harry said.

"Why didn't anybody wake me up?" Andie asked. In her house, when her parents were awake, they made sure she was too. Breakfast was a family affair. Then she began to realize that maybe she was intruding on their family time, maybe they had hoped she would sleep until they had finished eating.

"We thought you deserved a day to sleep in, get acclimated with your surroundings. Plus, we don't usually wake anybody up during the summer. The kids all woke up on their own," Ginny explained.

"Oh," Andie mumbled.

"Please, sit down," Ginny said. "I made pancakes."

Andie sat in the only seat available. It was next to Albus. She couldn't help but notice that when she sat down, he moved his chair ever-so-slightly away from her. _Ouch_ she thought.

She pretended not to notice Albus's movement, and took a pancake. It was chocolate chip, her favorite.

"So, how did you sleep?" Ginny asked her.

"Fine, you know."

"That's great."

The conversation went along like that for awhile until Andie got up the courage to ask what had really been on her mind.

"How am I going to get all of the stuff I need for school?" She asked.

"That's an easy one. We'll all go to Diagon Alley in August to pick up supplies for you, Albus, and James."

"Ok, but I don't have any money."

Harry waved her away. "We have plenty of money. You are considered a part of this family for the time being, and you are covered. Ginny and I are paying for your school tuition, as well as your supplies."

Andie felt like her tongue had caught in her throat. "I can't accept that. It's too much."

"Don't worry about it Andie, it's our pleasure."

She had a growing feeling of unease. Was this all a joke? Had her father been right? There was no way this random family she had just met the day before would be willing to pay for her education. Things like that didn't just happen, and they certainly didn't happen to her.

Harry pulled out his wand and muttered "Accio butter." The butter flew into his hand in what had to be the laziest display Andie had ever seen.

"Did you really just do that Harry?" Ginny asked her husband, hiding a smile behind her hand. "We're supposed to be setting a good example for our children."

"I set a perfectly good example. Why reach over for the butter when I can just summon it?"

The three Potter children exploded into fits of giggles. Andie finished her pancake in silence. She didn't have much to add to any conversation that followed. After she finished eating, Andie excused herself and went back to her room. She took her favorite book, _Wild Magic_ and started to read it on her bed. She had only gotten a few pages in when there was a knock on her door.

"What is it?"

"Lily, James and I were about to go out in the back and play, you wanna join us?"

Andie thought about it for a moment. "Sure, why not," she finally decided. She wanted to get to know the kids, if she didn't, the next 2 months would be torture.

"Awesome, we'll be in the backyard. Come out when you're ready."

Andie hoped this wasn't some cruel trick. She didn't know much about the kids, but it seemed like something they might do. It was what the people she knew in the past would do anyway. She pulled a pair of sneakers onto her feet and went to join the Potters in the back yard. What she found when she got out there was completely baffling.

"Are you guys flying?" She asked, shocked.

"Yeah. Broomsticks are the best," James shouted from several feet above her.

"I'll have to take your word for it," Andie said.

"That's right, you're a muggleborn. You've probably never even seen a broomstick, never mind been on one. Don't worry, all first years learn how to fly," James said smugly.

"Great," Andie groaned. Another thing to worry about, broken bones.

"You'll love it," Albus said. "It's a blast. James is probably going to be on the Gryffindor quidditch team this year. He's a brilliant chaser."

"What's quidditch?" Andie asked.

"What's quidditch?!" James was shocked. It didn't matter to him that she was raised in the muggle world. She didn't know what quidditch was, and that was an unforgivable offense.

"Now James, of course Andie doesn't know what quidditch is. She's not used to the magical world. She's still learning. Andie honey, quidditch is a wizarding sport that is played on broomsticks up in the air. There are three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. there are also three balls, the quaffle, the bludger, and the snitch. The chasers..." Ginny explained quidditch to the young girl. Andie listened, absolutely fascinated. Quidditch sounded exciting, and slightly confusing at the same time, but she knew she would never be able to play. She had never been particularly good at sports, and she felt a sport that is played a hundred feet in the air would not be a good idea for her.

"You want to try flying?" Harry asked her. Andie snapped out of her thoughts.

"Uh, what?" She asked.

"If you want, you're pretty light, I can take you for a spin around the yard on the back of my broom."

"Really? That sounds so cool," Andie said.

Harry smiled. "Just give me a second, I have to go get it out of the broom shed."

Andie nodded, excitement clear on her face. There was no way her dad would have approved of this, and that made her want to do it even more.

A few moments later, Harry returned. He was carrying a solid broom with a thick handle, and straight, shiny twigs hanging off the end. It was beautiful.

"This is my firebolt 10," he said. "She's my baby. Ginny may have been the professional quidditch player of the family, but I will always have skills too."

Andie felt her chin drop before she could think to stop it. "Ginny was a pro?"

A blush rose in Ginny's cheeks. "Oh, that was a long ago."

"It still happened. We saw replays of mom. She was really good," James said.

Andie smiled. These kinds of family squabbles had never happened in her family. Everyone was expected to be perfect, to be silent.

"Are you guys always like this?" She asked.

"Oh yeah," James and Harry said at the same time.

"Now, are we going for a ride or what?" Harry asked.

Andie nodded her head vigorously.

"Alright, let's go," Harry said, making sure she was holding onto the broom securely before kicking off from the ground. They flew high, higher than Andie had been expecting. She gripped the broom handle firmly. She could feel the wind blowing through her hair, and she loved every second of it. They went around for a little while before, much to Andie's displeasure, Harry directed the broom back towards the ground.

When they landed again, James exploded into another story about his parents. "Back when they were at Hogwarts, my dad was the youngest person to be put on his house team. He was a seeker. He was the first person in a century to make it as a first year."

"That's brilliant Mr. Potter," Andie said smiling "With that kind of quidditch gene pool, I'm sure James will make the team," she said, remembering what Albus had said earlier.

"There's a lot of strong competition this year though. A lot of good players are probably going to go out."

"Oh come off it," Albus said. "Everyone knows you're an amazing chaser, one of the best."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever," James said.

"Well do go on complaining about it if you're going to whine when I tell you the truth."

As the two boys were arguing, an owl flew towards them. it looked like there was an envelope tied to its leg. Andie stared at it, she had never seen an owl before.

"Uh, guys? What's up with this owl?"

"Oh, he's just bringing us a letter," Albus said offhandedly.

"he's bringing a what?"

"A letter. Don't you know that wizard mail is delivered by owls?" Albus asked.

"Uh, no. I guess I didn't know that." It seemed like there was a lot of stuff Andie didn't know about the wizarding world.

The owl flew down and landed in front of Ginny. The red-haired woman leaned over and took the letter from the bird. She looked at it, and smiled. "We've been invited to the Burrow for dinner tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Because it took me so long to update, I now have two updates ready for today. I have to figure out where I want this story to go, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to message me. :)**

There was a buzz of excitement in the air. Andie remembered that Harry had mentioned the burrow earlier when she had first arrived. Her stomach clenched. She wasn't sure she was ready to meet more people. She was just barely getting to know the Potters.

Ginny must have noticed her unease, because she took one look at the girl and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "You're going to be fine. The Weasley's are great, you'll see."

Andie nodded nervously, not trusting her to speak.

"You're going to love them Andie," Lily spoke up.

"I don't know, maybe I should just stay behind. You guys can go ahead and hang out with your friends. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense, the whole reason we're going is because they want to meet you," Harry said with a chuckle.

"They what?" Andie asked.

"Yeah, I owled them when it was confirmed that you were going to be staying with us. They're like family, and so are you, now. They all want to meet you."

"oh, ok."

Andie walked back to the house. she wanted to be alone. This all felt like too much. She couldn't handle it. She knew she couldn't go home, yet she couldn't fight back the terrible feeling of homesickness. She decided to write a letter to her mom. She hoped my dad wouldn't see it, she didn't want to think of how he would react if he found out. Andie took a pen and a piece of paper out of her backpack and set them on the desk that was conveniently located in the room. She tried to figure out what she wanted to write. By the time she had a working letter, at least an hour had passed, and there were crumpled up pieces of paper all over the floor. She read it over,

**Dear mother, **

**I am staying with a family called the Potters. They are very nice. They told me they are paying for my tuition, as well as books and living expenses. I can't believe it. Today we are going to a place called "the burrow" to meet up with a family friend of theres. Apparently they want to meet me. It's strange. I'm not sure how I feel about all of this, mother. I miss you. How is it going with father? Has he said anything? Please write back, I want to hear from you.**

**Love,**

**Andie**

**P.S. apparently they use owls to deliver mail in the wizarding world, weird.**

She set my pen down on the table and looked at her note. It was short and to the point. Now she had to figure out how to send it. Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. "Andie?"

"Yeah?" Andie asked.

"Can I come in?" The muffled voice asked.

"Yeah, of course."

The door slowly opened. James was standing in the doorway awkwardly. "Uh, I was sent to tell you that we're leaving soon."

"Alright, I'll be right down. Thanks."

"No problem." With that, he closed the door and went back downstairs.

Andie grabbed her letter, put some shoes on and went to join the rest of the family. She couldn't avoid this for much longer. They were going to send the rest of the family after her. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw that they were all patiently standing there.

"Um, I wrote a letter. I don't know how to send it though," she said awkwardly.

"Put it on the desk, we'll take care of it when we get back from the burrow," Harry said.

"Alright," Andie nodded. She placed her letter on the desk that was sitting off to the side of the entryway.

"Are we all ready now?" Harry asked.

Everyone around her nodded, so Andie did too.

"Ok, we're going to be apparating with each of you individually. I'm going to start with Lily, and Ginny will start with Albus, then we'll come back for Andie and James, alright?"

Everyone nodded.

Ginny, Harry, Lily, and Albus were there one moment, and gone the next, with only a crack to announce their departure. James and Andie stood there awkwardly, waiting for the adults to come back.

"So," James said.

"Huh?" Andie asked.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with your own family?" He asked.

"You parents didn't tell you?"

"They never tell me anything," the boy mumbled.

At 12 years old, James was already pretty tall. He had black hair, like his fathers, but his eyes were a deep hazel instead of his father's green.

"I'm here because my dad didn't want me. As soon as Professor Banks announced I was a witch, my father threw me out," Andie said.

"But you're only 11!" The boy was in shock.

"Yeah, I know. But that didn't stop him."

"I don't know how a parent could do that to their child. Man, I thought my dad's story was bad."

Andie was just about to ask him if he could expand on that, when Harry and Ginny reappeared.

"I expect everything is alright over here?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, we're great," Andie whispered. James just nodded along with what she said.

"Alright, well I'm going to take James, and Ginny will take Andie," the man said, nodding towards his wife. Andie walked over to the glamorous red-haired woman and grabbed ahold of her arm. Memories of the trip she had taken a short time ago flooded through her brain, and she knew I wasn't going to like this.

Seconds later, she felt her body being contorted into strange positions, stretched out, and squashed together for what felt like an eternity. Right when it was starting to become unbearable, her feel landed on the ground. They had arrived. She took a few moments to regain her bearings. She looked around. There was a tall, lop-sided building, that looked as though it had been pieced together at different times throughout the years. She could hear the sound of joy and laughter coming from inside. She immediately felt uncomfortable, like she didn't belong. she tried to turn around and walk away, but a pair of strong arms grabbed her and stopped her from walking any further.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, anywhere?"

"If you wandered off, I can promise you, you wouldn't get very far," he said. "Now come on, let's go inside and meet everyone."

Grudgingly, she gave in. She knew he was right. She didn't have any money or transportation, she didn't even know where she was. she would never make it.

Andie followed him to the house. As soon as they walked through the door, they were greeted by a series of cheers. She shrunk a little, and tried to hide in the shadows.

"Welcome to the burrow," a cheery, female voice came seemingly out of nowhere. Before Andie knew what was happening, she was being hugged by a beautiful woman with wild brown hair.

"I'm Hermione," the woman said. "This is my husband, Ron, and my two kids, Rose and Hugo. Those two over there are the kid's grandparents, Molly and Arthur," She said, pointing to each person as she said their name. She continued to point out various other people who were around the house. It turned out, that each person was related to everyone else in some way. It felt weird for Andie to be surrounded by such a large, happy family. It had just been her and her parents. Her grandparents were dead, and both of her parents had been only children. She wasn't used to being around so many people, it was all a bit overwhelming.

"Are you ok?" Albus was right next to her. She hadn't realized how close he was until he spoke.

"Oh, uh yeah. I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure?" He asked, there was clear concern laced throughout his words.

"Yeah, I'm just a little bit overwhelmed, that's all."

"Ok, we're all here if you need us, and no one here is scary. You're going to be fine."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Albus."

He nodded to her then walked off again. Andie took a deep were all perfectly nice people, she was going to be fine, wasn't she?


End file.
